History of the Famous Kyiv Cake

30.05.17

Travelers who have visited Kyiv are surely familiar with the main confectionary pride of the Ukrainian capital. This is exceptionally delicious Kyiv cake, cooked by unique recipe. In Soviet times, a box with a Kyiv cake inside was one of the most desirable souvenirs from Kyiv. Destinations tells about the interesting history of this culinary masterpiece.

There are two well-known legends about creation of Kyiv cake. According to one of them, in 1956, the workers of Karl Marx confectionary factory prepared a portion of egg albumen for a biscuit, but by some reason forgot to put it into the fridge. The next morning, head of pastry workshop K. Petrenko found the forgotten albumen, which had already become not so fresh. He decided to make a new type of cake with help of consolidated products in order to avoid conflict with factory administration. This “sweet mistake” gave birth to Kyiv cake, which gained world-wide popularity afterwards.But the second legend insists that Kyiv cake was created on purpose. This legend tells that the authors of Kyiv cake were 17-year old girl Nadezhda Chernogor, who failed to enter medical university and decided to choose confectionary career, and her supervisor Konstantin Petrenko. Nowadays, no one can be sure which of these two legends tells the true story. However, Kyiv cake has received the first award just after its birth – in 1957. But this famous dessert was officially patented only 17 years after, in 1973. The authorship certificate was issued to two confectioners: Anna Kurilo and Galina Fastovets-Kulinovskaya. Read: Best Desserts in KyivKyiv cake has become the sweet symbol of the city as well as of the whole Ukraine. This dryish cake with sweet fatty cream became a favorite specialty for the people in many countries. By the way, if a traveler wants to bring Kyiv cake home as a present, he has to hurry up, because storage life of the real Kyiv cake is only 48 hours. It is also notable for having an official birthday date. Kyiv cake celebrated its 60-year anniversary on 6th December 2016. Kyiv cake recipe has changed many times. First, walnuts were substituted with cashew, and then with hazelnuts. The only thing left unchanged, is the composition of light glairy pie shells. This magic recipe has been kept a secret for more than 50 years. Read: Bassano: sweet place in KyivTaste Kyiv cake to feel the real spirit of Ukrainian capital.Photo source: shutterstock.com, depositphotos.com. All photos belong to their rightful owners.

A pioneer of post-Soviet Era of Real Estate market in Ukraine, Terry Pickard founded his company way back in 1992. During those 25 years, Pickard Real Estate & Asset Services has opened a line of specialized divisions, offering services in brokerage, leasing, and property management. Sure enough, Mr. Pickard faced multiple challenges of opening and sustaining business in a foreign country, yet he managed not only to overcome those, but find one more passion in his life. By founding The Connoisseur Club, Terry Pickard gathered fans of exquisite fine dining, who review various cuisine restaurants in Kyiv. Now he shares his challenges and achivements while living in Ukraine as well as his expectations about the future.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations expects the world population to reach 10 billion people by 2050, which will boost demand for food. Can Ukraine leap at the chance and become a key player in the food market? What windows of opportunity are open today? Vladyslava Rutytska, a member of National Reform Council, vicepresident of SigmaBleyzer and AgroGeneration, has shared her views on these and other topical agribusiness issues with us.